


photographic memory

by sundrymunity



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-02
Updated: 2015-02-02
Packaged: 2018-03-10 04:29:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,892
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3276806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sundrymunity/pseuds/sundrymunity
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>from <a href="http://tinybokuto.tumblr.com">tinybokuto's</a> au idea</p>
<p>"Vampire/immortal oikawa taking pictures of iwa every single day, taping them to the wall until he runs out of room. Starts putting them in scrap books but he doesn’t look back through them until iwa is old and he knows he’s going to pass soon but he’s going through the pics and pointing to them even though Iwaizumi can barely see them and he’s telling iwa-chan about how he clearly remembers these exact days and just keeps doing that until it’s time for him to go"</p>
            </blockquote>





	photographic memory

**Author's Note:**

> you know what you're getting into. thank you for reading!
> 
> tumblr prompt + story can be found [here](http://inthenyxoftime.tumblr.com/post/109835363371/tinybokuto-vampire-immortal-oikawa-taking)

Iwaizumi puts it down to one of Oikawa's odd habits as a vampire, especially since the other claims he's been doing it as long as the camera's been around. The walls of the vampire's room are covered in it, the ceiling only free because that's where an admittedly gorgeous glow in the dark painting of the night sky resides (a touch Oikawa had almost _begged_  for, saying he'd pay for it and everything), and now Iwaizumi finds himself using his time off of university to put up _another_  shelf for his friend's growing collection of scrapbooks.

While Oikawa didn't look back at them - not even to decorate the pages like one'd think he would - Iwaizumi sits in the early hours of the night flipping through them, wondering first what the purpose was of all this and second _when_ exactly had Oikawa'd manage to get this picture of them so close.

It didn't look like it'd been taken by either of them. Actually, he doesn't even remember when it could've been taken. Try as he might, nothing comes to mind, and he decides to ask Oikawa about it later. The vampire had an impeccable memory... when he wanted to have one. Mysteriously, it always went away when there was fights, a lack of help around the house, and when Oikawa would use Iwaizumi's money for frivolous things.  


Mysteriously.

Naturally, and Iwaizumi didn't think he'd do it anyway, Oikawa doesn't tell him. He actually gets _angry_  and leaves for a week, claiming he'd find someone who didn't go through his "personal belongings" (all of which had been bought by Iwaizumi anyway) to live with. Despite that, everything stays, Oikawa returns like nothing happened, and Iwaizumi learns that this is one thing he's not allowed to look through, not allowed to share, and not even denying the other blood works. It just makes Oikawa stubborn and the apartment's quiet, lonely, and _empty_ without the presence of his over eager companion.

It becomes so normal that one day Iwaizumi stops thinking about it.

He graduates, gets a masters in Microbiology, goes into reconstructing cells for burn victims, for scars, for everything under the sun and still keeps to his apartment despite the income boost (because the walls are covered with memories, because taking them all down would be a pain, because this is Oikawa's territory and it's fine as is). He sees a few girls here and there, almost proposes to one, gets a confession from Oikawa when they're drunk on New Year's and figures out that the reason he hadn't kicked out the vampire when he had the chance is probably because he's liked him a while back. There'd been plenty of times he would've like to, too. He settles with sticking with the pain in his side and watches him bloom the way a rose does, its beautiful crimson petals poisonous for humans (Oikawa'd mentioned it once, passingly, like he'd heard about it on TV), the thorns sharp and curved to hook anyone who'd dare touch it, and learns how to touch him between. He refuses Oikawa's offer to become a vampire, to be as long lived and haunted by the past and all the regrets he'd have in the future, and even if it isn't up for debate this far in it's always there, after every accident, near death, fight over turf, robbery...

Old age.

By the time Iwaizumi's hair greys, Oikawa's insisted and succeeded in moving them to someplace a little quieter, pushing off the "turf" excuse with a secret smile and a casual mention of an old friend who owes him a favor. He's still strong enough to move about, to do whatever he needs to, but the vampire takes care of a lot without much hesitance, cooking even if he can't taste, cleaning, dusting, keeping the place absolutely spotless. Not a single complaint. Just a quiet smile that wears thin as the days pass, stretches and it feels like Oikawa ages just like he does, even though he looks as young as the day Iwaizumi'd taken him in, the blood that tarnished his pale cheeks then never seen again.

And one day, he wakes up to the vampire's heaviest yet, the bed covered in pictures and scrapbooks piled high.

"... Did you really take all of these out from storage?" Not the right question to ask, but it makes Oikawa laugh and nod, a brighter grin taking the sullen look's place. Iwaizumi takes the hand offered and props himself up with a small groan, body feeling weaker than it had when he'd fallen asleep. "What for?"

"Iwa-chan," the nickname always coupled with one of three tones (warm, whining, somber) fills him with an odd feeling of suspense because it's nothing he's heard before, cracked and forced. Oikawa shakes his head after a moment, lowering his voice and playing with Iwaizumi's age-softened hands. "Hajime."

That only makes the feeling rise, and he squeezes Oikawa's hand tightly. "What?"

"This is the last time I'll ask you, Hajime. Do you really want to stay a human? Won't you let me turn you? You'll regain your youth with a few meals, from strength to looks, and--"

"I'm staying as I am. Sorry, but spending thousands of years with regrets piling up isn't something I'm into."

Even if it'd definitely be nice to spend more time with Oikawa, he already feels so satisfied with what he's done that dragging out his life for an eternity would leave him at a loss.

Oikawa sighs but nods, lifting Iwaizumi's hand to his lips and kissing it from the back of it to the palm, leaning forward to trail along the visible veins on his arms and he grins at Iwaizumi's scowl and stuttering pulse near his neck, climbing carefully onto the bed to lay beside him and collect the pictures.

"I decided that since you're a human and... will pass on, sometime," though Oikawa probably knows, the way a cat can smell when someone's about to die, and that makes Iwaizumi's heart clench painfully when he realizes that must not have much time left if Oikawa's acting this way. Oikawa clears his throat, resting against his shoulder. "I decided that I should share with you what I've been collecting over the decades we've spent together."

Iwaizumi stays quiet, reaching for his glasses on the side table and stopping when Oikawa catches his hand, pulling it back.

"It's okay. I remember every detail of these pictures. I'll describe them so well you won't even need to use those things - as good as they look on you, Iwa-chan." His voice is back to being as it usually was when it was just him, filling every space with an undeniable warmth, and Iwaizumi lets Oikawa hold his hand as they go through them all.

It goes on like this for a few days, each chapter of their life - from their first meeting, moving in, fights, sickness and health, secret moments, silly things like the dinner Oikawa'd tried to make slowly improving, the time a surprise party hadn't gone so well when you don't know how old your future lover is, until more recent pictures of age and weathering - told in what feels like millions of pictures, of moments, of things that Oikawa remembers with perfect clarity and Iwaizumi taking a few minutes with most, some coming back to him the instant the picture comes out, others completely forgotten with age. The last are ones that Oikawa spends more time on, describing the weather, what they'd had for dinner, what had happened, until Iwaizumi at least formulates what it must've been, a new memory to replace one that'd been left behind.

They stop for meals and such, of course. And Oikawa continues to add onto his collection of pictures too. _Something to look at when you're gone,_  he says honestly, voice strained and smile empty.

It occurs to him that he might've not been the first human Oikawa loved, nor the last, but he's still someone that the vampire - a being whose lifetime is so long that Iwaizumi's is just a blink in time - cherishes so much and will genuinely be heartbroken over. It makes him smile softly and run his fingers through Oikawa's tousled hair, rubbing his scalp gently and not answering when he's asked about it.

Time must be running out. Iwaizumi can feel it in his body, can see it in Oikawa's wet eyes and trembling hands as they go through the last book, and wills himself to hold on until the last story is done. And even when it is he takes Oikawa's face in his hands and kisses every tear rolling down those pale cheeks that redden with his warm contact, lets the other cling to him, doesn't say a word to Oikawa's sobs and protests of _Don't go, not yet, I want to make more memories with you, please stay with me_.

"Oikawa," the vampire's head snaps up and he's still the ugliest crier in the world, must've been for the centuries he's probably lived, but Iwaizumi thinks he's lovely and he kisses him very gently, pressing their foreheads together as he caresses the back of his head. "Tooru. Do you understand why I don't want to be a vampire like you?"

"Because you hate me and want me to suffer."

He laughs, wiping away the tears with his hand and exhaling softly. Which will be his last? "Because you've satisfied me enough for a lifetime. Because if I did that, I'm afraid you'd eventually start to see me as someone who's a threat to you, because I've affected you enough that you're crying and that makes me happy."

"You're so mean, Iwa-chan. That can't be it. If you join me, I can make you happy enough for ten lifetimes, for a _million,_ " he chokes out, burying his face into Iwaizumi's chest. "Why? Why won't you?"

"It must just be a human thing." Iwaizumi wonders how he could explain it to someone who's lived so long. "Why did _you_ choose to become a vampire?"

"... Because I wasn't happy with how my life had went. Because I was lonely and weak, because I was sick and unhappy lying on my deathbed."

"I might be lying here about to go, Tooru, but I'm healthy and happy, I'm satisfied with my life, I haven't been lonely since the day I met you." Which stands out as one of the memories that's stuck with him through time, even if he'd feigned innocence just to see Oikawa's face light up as he recalled it with perfect clarity. The next breath is a little lighter, harder, and Iwaizumi lets it out slowly. "I've never run away from anything and I don't plan to now. Don't hate me for this, alright? I'm a stupid human like any other."

It's only when Oikawa nods that he feels himself relax, massaging small circles into his back with a smile.

"Thanks." He doesn't know what else to say, to give Oikawa comfort, so he settles with a mockingly annoyed sigh and a lazy grip to his hair. "I love you, dumbass."

"Jerk. Stupid. Meanie. I love you too, Hajime, I always will."

_Doubtful,_  Iwaizumi thinks to himself with his last waking moments, _you live too long to remember someone like me, much less love them. Dummy._


End file.
